Attendance

FULL DAY ABSENCE

On or one day before the absent a parent/guardian must call the Attendance Office and leave a message.

Follow these instructions:

Call the Homestead Attendance line at (408) 522-2513 one day prior to the absence or as soon as possible

Leave the following information:

Student ID number

Spell your students last name and then first name

Date(s) of absence

Reason for the absence

Your name, phone # and your relationship to the student

PARTIAL DAY ABSENCE

When arriving on campus after school has started a parent/guardian should report the late arrival to the Attendance Office. Permission to leave school before the close of the day’s program for any reasons requires parental consent the day before or the morning of the absence. You must obtain an off-campus pass from the attendance office before leaving campus.

Follow these instructions:

Call the Homestead Attendance Line at (408) 522-2515on day prior to their absence or as soon as possible

Leave the following information:

Student ID number

Spell your student's last name and then first name

Date of absence

Reason for the absence

Your name, phone # and your relationship to the student

attendance policy

Every student must be in school unless it is necessary for him/her to be absent due toillness, medicalappointment (verified with medical note), court subpoenaor funeralof a member of the student’s immediate family. These are the ONLY excusable reasons for a student’s absence from school. Family emergencies, out-of-town trips, DMV appointments, college visit, etc. are considered “unexcused” absence.

It is the student’s responsibility to have his/her parent/guardian call the Attendance Office within 48 hours to report the absence. If a call is not received, the absence will be classified as cut and disciplinary action will result.

Student may NOT call themselves in for their absence. 18 year-old students may clear their own absences ONLY if they have an “Adult Status” letter on file in the Attendance Office. If the absence has not been cleared on the day of the absence before 3PM, the attendance automatic calling system will contact your home as a reminder of the absence and the need to clear it. Please be sure the phone number listed as the “household” number on the emergency form filled out at the beginning of the year has a voice messaging system. To make changed to your emergency contacts please login to Infinite Campus or stop by the Main Office.

Parent notes are NOT accepted. ALL medical appointments should be verified with a medical note that includes the following information: The patient’s name, the date of the appointment, the time of the appointment, the condition for which the patient was seen, the day on which the patient can return to school and limits and duration of limits of physical activity, if any. If a student is out ill for 3 days or more, a medical note MUST be turned into the Attendance Office in order for absence to be cleared as excused.

Student punctuality is vital to avoid classroom disruptions and to promote a solid learning environment. Students are considered tardy when they arrive to class after the second bell (tardy bell). After 30 minutes it is considered a truant tardy. Parents may not excuse a tardy (woke up late, missed the bus, schedule confusion, etc.) Students arriving latewithin the first 30 min should go directly to class. Students arriving 30 min after the tardy bell must check in with the Attendance Office to obtain an “admit to class” pass before heading to their classroom. Students who are coming late with an excused reason(like a medical/dental appointment or Illness) will continue to report immediately to the office to submit documentation regardless of the time they check in. Incidents of tardiness will be handled on a class-by-class basis. The first three tardies will be dealt with by the teacher. After the 4th tardy, the student will be referred to the Dean who will assign one hour of detention. Students with excessive tardies (10+ tardies in a month) will be assigned an intervention. Intervention may include: student conference, develop of an attendance plan, detention, parent conference and placed on the “cannot attend” list.

In order to minimize disruptions to instructional time we discourage calling students out of class. If the student will be leaving early, it is the student’s responsibility to pick up an “Off Campus” pass BEFORE class or during brunch or lunch. Students leaving campus without a pass will be breaking closed campus rules and may receive “cuts” for classes missed. Students that do not follow attendance procedures may be referred for disciplinary action. If you forgot, scheduled a last minute medical or dental appointment or you are coming to pick up a sick child, it takes about 15 minutes to call the student out of class (possible longer if they are in PE). If you are picking up a student during tutorial (Tue. – Fri. 9:25 am – 9:55 am), student are not required to be in a specific classroom; therefore we will not be able to send a pass. We also cannot locate a student during brunch or lunch and do not use the PA system to call students.

In case of emergency or illness, the student is to report to the Health Clerk (located in School Climate) and the parent/guardian will be contacted. If we cannot reach the parent/guardian or someone on the student emergency information, your student will have to wait in the office until contact can be made.

If a student was marked absent by mistake, it is the student’s responsibility to talk with the teacher that marked him/her absent. Please DO NOT call the Attendance Office and leave a message. Best way to clear up the mistake is email via School Loop the teacher who marked the student absent and cc Candi Marugg in the Attendance Office. Once the teacher can confirm the Attendance Office can reverse the absence. The teacher is the ONLY staff member that can verify the student’s presence.

Extended Absences for family trips are strongly discouraged. If for any reason a student is going to be absent for more than a week, in addition to calling the Attendance Office, the parent/guardian must contact the student’s Dean and Guidance Counselor. The most efficient way to get missed work is to e-mail teachers directly via School Loop. For extended (a week or more) excused absences, the Guidance Office Secretary (408-522-2505) can help facilitate homework collection. A minimum of 48 hour notice is required for homework request. Missed work as a result of unexcused absences may result in no credit.

Students with one or more unexcused absences cannot participate in extra-curricular activities (sports, drama, music programs, clubs, dances, etc.) on the day of the absence. Cutting classes will result in parent/guardian contact, a conference with the Dean and detention. Continued truancy may result in forfeit of extra-curricular activities, suspension, and referral to the Truancy Abatement Program and/or removal from the class.

truancy

According to California Education Code (48260.5[a]), any student who has 3 or more unexcused absences over 3 days or has more than 10% (percent) excused absence is considered truant. Truant students may have school privileges (such as dance) revoked. Habitual truants are referred to the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney for truancy mediation, may lead to fines of up to $400, community service and forfeit of driver’s license.

Conference with Parent/Guardian and Student; parent/guardian must call Dean’s office to schedule a meeting @ 408-522-2551

Student's time extended on the “Can Not Attend” list

STEP 2a: Site Conference No-Show

If a student and/or parent is a no-show to the meeting or If attempts to contact parent are unsuccessful, after 3 attempts to schedule meeting in person or via phone (original letter counts as one), make referral to the DA Mediation Meeting.

STEP 3: Notification of DA Mediation Meeting Required—3rd Letter

After the next truancy event following a site conference (or documented conscious effort), invite to a DA Mediation Meeting (35 UNV, NEX, CUT or TRU periods in IC).

STEP 4: New Prosecution (Submitting a Case to the DA)

A case can be filed after the next truancy event following the DA Mediation Meeting (or “Green Sheet Conference”)

STEP 5: Refiling for Prosecution (Submitting a Case to the DA for a 2nd Time, or More)

If student is truant again in the new school year after having a case submitted to the DA in the previous school year, that student would be on the “Refile” track. Since it is considered a new case in a new school year, the prior year’s truancy numbers can’t be added to the student’s current attendance record. However, the truancy steps must be repeated and documented for each refile. If there are multiple refiles within the same school year, those truancy numbers can be totaled.

NOTE: We can request the DA to prosecute a student more than once in the same school year, and in each instance, additional consequences can be imposed by the court.